Dismay at sentence

And to the dismay of officers, who have led the country in requesting ASBOs, teenage troublemaker Lee Finglass was allowed to leave court immediately, because he had already served 12 hours in custody.

The force today said it would not be formally objecting over the sentence, in a bid to retain a working relationship with the magistrates. But the chairman of the bench said they would only investigate what had happened if an official complaint was made.

Hyndburn MP Greg Pope today said he was dismayed by the court's actions.

Sgt Julian Platt, who is responsible for town centre policing, said: "I am very disappointed by this decision. It sends the wrong message to people who have the orders served on them."

Today, the chairman of Hyndburn magistrates said he was unable to comment as he had no knowledge of the case. Idris Moorby, manager of Lancashire's court clerks, was unavailable to comment.

Breaches of ASBOs carry up to five years in jail, although magistrates can only make sentences of up to six months. Earlier this year, Michael Aspin, 26, of Church, was jailed for two months by magistrates for breaching an ASBO banning him from shops.

Finglass, 18, of Edleston Street, Accrington, became the fourth person in Hyndburn to be served with an order by Hyndburn Magistrates in March.

After being told of his persistent anti-social behaviour in Accrington town centre, magistrates banned him from going into the town centre from 6pm to 6am for the next three years.

Since 1996, he had been involved in 26 offences relating to theft from cars, damage to property, burglary and theft, the court was told.

He was also a well-known troublemaker in Accrington town centre after dark, having committed various drunk and disorderly acts and being responsible for violence and threatening behaviour.

At the time the ASBO was served, licensees welcomed the ban, saying he was a persistent troublemaker.

Police spotted Finglass hanging out of a car window as it was driven along Church Street, Accrington, on Sunday evening.

He was arrested and placed in police cells overnight before appearing before the court.

The bench ordered Finglass to serve 24 hours in custody, then let him go free after being told he had already served 12 hours in the cells.

Sgt Platt said: "This teenager has a catalogue of offences behind him which is why the order was served in the first place.

"For him to be sentenced to just one day in custody and then to be let free makes a mockery of the system."

There is no plan to lodge a formal objection as police officers would like to maintain some of the goodwill which they have fostered in getting the ASBOs served in the first place.

Mr Pope said: "The Government has done the hard work by changing the law to give the courts more power to deal with anti social behaviour.

"The police have done the hard work by bringing this man to court when he has broken the ASBO and I am dismayed by the action the court has taken.

"I am sure my constituents will be as well. Anti-social behaviour is a big problem and this man should have been punished more."

A Home Office spokesman said: "ASBOs are an extremely important weapon in the fight against crime and disorder. Breaching an ASBO is a very serious offence which is why it carries a maximum sentence of five years in prison, but individual sentences are a matter for individual courts and it would be inappropriate to comment on an individual case."

A total of five ASBOs have been served in Hyndburn since they became law under the Crime and Disorder Act.

Then-Home Secretary and Blackburn MP Jack Straw publicly acclaimed Hyndburn for using the new law to combat anti-social behaviour and called on magistrates to clamp down on people who breached the orders.

Chairman of the Hyndburn Magistrates' bench, Geoff Knowles said: "I have no knowledge of the case so it would be unfair to comment on matters dealt with by other magistrates.

"We would only choose to investigated what happened if an offical complaint was received."